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[DAVID MILLER]

Dear Members,
                         I have just built my first model boat at the age of 70.
 My previous modelling experience was many years ago and was all model aircraft.
 The boat I have built is the Aerokits Sea Commander reviewed in Model Boats magazine June 2012 and all seems to have well but I am now at the painting stage. The article says the whole hull,decks and cabins were given 2 coats of marine quality satin varnish to seal the plywood rubbing down between coats, then the colour coats applied followed by Humbrol clear satin varnish.
 Can anyone tell me what paint and varnish I should use that will all be compatible with each other.
I am considering brush painting.
                                                     Regards
                                                     David

[Colin Bishop]

If you stick with Humbrol enamel for the colour coats then you should have no problems. The method described in the article will work OK on this basis but you might find it better to use sanding sealer or even dope to seal the hull.
 
What you absolutely mustn't do is to use a spray can paint over a conventional varnish finish. Some of the 'enamel' ones might be OK but the solvent in the can would very likely cause the varnish underneath to bubble up and ruin everything.
 
You will probably be inundated with advice on this as we all have our own favourite methods but the watchwords are to stick with one manufacturer and the same type of paint, i.e don't mix enamel and acrylic! And certainly don't use an acrylic quick dry varnish on a model boat!
 
Colin

[DAVID MILLER]

Hi Colin,
             Thanks for your reply I wil  take it all onboard but can you please tell me where I can get larger tins of Humbrol from and would the 100ml of sanding sealing from Cornwall models be sufficient to coat the whole model 2 coats.
                                                                                                                                                           Regards
                                                                                                                                                           David

[Colin Bishop]

David,
 

The 100ml size of sanding sealer might just about run to a couple of coats on the exterior of the model but wouldn't be enough for the inside as well. A lot will depend on how absorbent the wood is.

As far as Humbrol is concerned, I don't think you can buy bigger tins these days but as an alternative you could use International Japlac which comes in Gloss or Satin varieties with a more limited choice of colours. With the satin you would not need to put on a varnish topcoat.

International also sell Toplac which is a yacht emamel, tough but expensive and perhaps a bit too thick out of the tin for modelling applications.

 
Colin

[Stavros]

I concur with what Colin has allready said top advise....with regards to Humbrol in larger sizes I agree But why not go down to  and just get some Household Primer and Gloss paint if you are brush painting.Houshold paint is waterproofif you use the EXTERIOR paint,if using this then why use sanding sealer,no need to at all,use new wood primer thin it ....does the same job.
 
 
Dave

[DAVID MILLER]

To Colin and Dave,
                               Thank you both for your input,I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, the info is much appreciated.


                                            Regards
                                            David

[Terry]

Hello David,
I too am currently building the Sea Commander, just about to fit the hull skins. I have been pondering over how to finish/paint the boat and tend to agree with Stavros. On one previous model, a yacht, the deck was painted with Dulux primer and gloss, two or three coats of each, rubbing down between coats, superb finish. Please keep us informed on how things go, I will be particularly interested to see what type of battery you will use and the performance it gives on the water.


Cheers, Terry.

[Colin Bishop]

Dulux primer, undercoat and five year exterior gloss certainly used to be an excellent combination but I do wonder how good they still are given the deterioration in quality of most domestic paints to meet requirements for the reduction of volatiles. Many paints advertised as being suitable for wood are in fact now very soft and prone to chipping which makes them unsuitable for modelling use. You can proably still get the high quality stuff but it comes in large cans and is very expensive. Yacht enamels and some specialists paints are still closer to the old formulations and tougher, plus you can usually get them in small tins.
 
Same thing applies to cars, the new water based finishes are rubbish compared with the old cellulose ones and very vulnerable to stone chips and scratching.
 
Colin

[Bryan Young]

Colin....(and Stavros, to a lesser extent)...
I was intrigued by one of your replies which quite vehemently came down against using Acrylics on a model boat.
I've been using Acrylics for a few years now. My ferry "Northumbrian" used them both on the hull and superstructure. No ill effects over the last few years.
But slightly apart from that, I find that using the acrylic rather than the enamel version of the clear lacquers (varnishes?) works the best when coating/sealing wood planked decks. The acrylic soaks into the timber much better than the enamel version and dries much faster. Mind you, coating the planked deck of "Bluebird of Chelsea" took (if I recall correctly) 13 light spray coats before a good finish was obtained.
Could you eplain your reasoning a bit further please? Regards. Bryan Young.

[DickyD]

I, like Bryan use a lot of acrylics on my boats without any trouble.

[Colin Bishop]

Bryan & Richard,
 
I have no real quarrel with acrylics per se, but prefer to use the more traditional solvent based paints and varnishes while you can still get them as I think they do provide a generally tougher finish. I have had problems with removing marks from an acrylic paint surface when the paint started to come off with it. With enamel/polyurethane you can use white spirit without damaging the surface. I don't have any problems with using the Halfords rattle cans and in particular their primers and matt & satin blacks which are excellent.
 
My main beef is with the water based acrylic varnishes, the ones that give a milky surface when first applied and then dry clear. They don't seem to be completely waterproof and I have suffered from 'blooming' on occasion even after the varnish has been applied for weeks. Also, if the substrate isn't right, they seem to dry to a thin film which can be OK until it is damaged after which it is inclined to peel off. This is why I would not use an acrylic varinsh over an enamel finish which a lot of people are tempted to do because it dries quickly, it won't react but it may not stay on either - probably because there is insufficient 'key' on the substrate and also no chemical bond. These sort of problems are almost certainly due to combining acrylic and 'oil' based finishes which is basically a no, no anyway as I'm sure Stavros will confirm.
 
As far as decks are concerned I tend to stick with the traditional polyurethane varnishes which seem to go on well over anything (including paint) and really get into the wood.  The waterbased acrylic ones are OK up to a point but I feel they can give a slightly plasticky appearance to the surface once you have several layers on, especially when brush painting.
 
It's all a matter of personal preference really and I think that most of us settle into a method we are comfortable with.
 
Colin